Tag Archives: Cabo Verde

“El Negro,” The Cabo Verdean-Argentine Captain of Argentina’s National Soccer Team.

December 9, 2022 G.S. Monteiro Leave a comment

Those with ancestry in Cabo Verde are known as “Cabo Verdean Argentines” that live in Argentina. There were roughly 8,000 back in the 1980 census. Other sources put the number of descendants of Cabo Verdean immigrants in Argentina at between 12,000 and 15,000. Of this number, only about 300 are believed to be African-born.[i] Before Cabo Verde gained its independence in 1975, its immigrant population was counted among the Portuguese. In the late 19th century, a limited number of people from Cabo Verde arrived in Argentina. Between the 1920s and WWII, there was a sharp rise in the population. The most significant number of Cabo Verdean immigrants arrived between 1927 and 1933 and again after 1946. Famine, a lack of employment possibilities, and resource depletion forced them to leave Cabo Verde.[ii]

The majority came from the islands of São Vicente, Santo Antão, and São Nicolau, with some also coming from Fogo and Brava. Buenos Aires Province is home to the largest concentration of Cabo Verdeans and people of Cabo Verdean descent in all of Argentina. Since the majority of them were skilled mariners and fishers, they were typically located near water and found work in ports. They anchored at places such as the South Dock, Ensenada, Rosario, Bahia Blanca, and San Nicolás de Los Arroyos. A large number of them found employment in the Argentine Navy’s Sea Fleet, Merchant Navy, and Fluvial Fleet at the YPF dockyards. [iii] In the largely European-Argentine society, there were many people who had to deal with discrimination. For more than sixty years, two groups have been dedicated to providing mutual support and fostering cultural interchange. The early 1930s saw the establishment of the Society of Mutual Aid, often known as The Cabo Verdean Union of South Dock. Around the same time, the Cabo Verdean Sport and Culture Club of Ensenada came into being.

It’s about time we took a moment to reflect on one of the few Afro-Argentines in soccer history. One of the best defenders in South American soccer history, José Manuel Ramos Delgado, passed away on December 3, 2010, in Buenos Aires.[iv] He was revered as a god by River Plate fans despite never having won a championship during his six years with the mighty club and drawing none other than Pelé’s Santos FC, where he was also magnificent when he was thirty-two years old. He was a calm leader and a pristine defender who captained the national team in sixteen of the twenty-five games he appeared in.[v] Quilmes, Argentina, is the place of origin for Jose Manuel Ramos Delgado. His father, born in São Vicente, Cabo Verde, gave him automatic membership in Argentina’s Cabo Verdean community. During the 1956 season, Jose Manuel Ramos Delgado made his professional debut with Lanús. Quickly, he was able to prove himself and transfer to River Plate, where he spent seven seasons and 172 appearances. Jose Manuel Ramos Delgado started working at Banfield in 1966. After a brief stint, he transferred to Santos FC in Brazil, where he played during the club’s glory years alongside legends like Pelé, Coutinho, and José Macia. He made 324 appearances for Santos and scored once in his career. In his final year as a professional, Jose Manuel Ramos Delgado suited up for Portuguesa Santista. When he was thirty-nine years old, he called it quits.[vi]

Jose Manuel Ramos Delgado managed to make his debut for the national squad in early 1958 and was summoned to the World Cup in Sweden despite having not participated in the qualifiers. He sat out of the Cup, sparing himself the humiliation of watching the “hermanos” get knocked out of the competition in the first round after a 6-1 loss to Czechoslovakia. Jose Manuel Ramos Delgado, also in 1962, traveled to the World Cup being hosted in Chile. His debut was a 3-1 loss to England, but coach Juan Carlos Lorenzo did not start using him until then. The defender did his part: Argentina didn’t concede goals from Hungary in the second game but didn’t score either. A new early elimination was confirmed when the score remained at 0-0. The turnaround occurred in 1964 and 1965, when Jose Manuel Ramos Delgado, or “El Negro,” became a regular in the starting lineup. He was the captain in the Albiceleste’s most major achievement until the 1978 Cup. Argentinian won the 1964 Nations Cup with a 3-0 victory over Brazil in São Paulo.[vii] Even though he played in every qualifying match for the 1966 World Cup, coach Juan Carlos Lorenzo, who took over the national team on the eve of the World Cup, ignored him and only used him in one of the final pre-World Cup tests, an unofficial friendly against Cagliari on June 1, 1966.

Jose Manuel Ramos Delgado accomplished all of his career highlights while wearing the white jersey of Santos FC. He took home the Paulista title four times (1967, 1968, 1969, and 1973) and the “Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa” trophy once (1968). Following his playing career’s conclusion, Jose Manuel Ramos Delgado served as the manager of Brazilian club Santos for a time before returning to Argentina, where he managed a number of different teams, including Belgrano, Deportivo Maip, Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, Estudiantes de La Plata, River Plate, Talleres de Córdoba, Platense, All Boys, and his hometown club Quilmes. He also functioned as the manager of the Peruvian team Universitario. Soon after, he went back to Santos to work as a youth team coach, where he shaped the careers of future stars like Robinho and Diego. After completing training at the Circle of Sports Journalism in 1994, he began working as a sports pundit for a number of broadcast outlets.[viii]

Argentina National Team in 1964. Standing: Rattín, Varacka, Carrizo, Vieytez, Ramos Delgado, Simeone. Crouching: Onega, Rendo, Prospitti, Rojas and Mesiano. Credit: m.diariouno.com.ar. — Argentina national team in 1964. Standing: Rattín, Varacka, Carrizo, Vieytez, Ramos Delgado, Simeone. Crouching: Onega, Rendo, Prospitti, Rojas, and Mesiano. Credit: m.diariouno.com.ar.

Credit: Revista do Esporte number 447 – September 30, 1967.

Pelé and Jose Manuel Ramos Delgado “El Negro”

[i] University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth. “1995 Cape Verdean Diaspora Population Estimates.” Retrieved on December 8, 2022.

[ii] António Carreira, Migrações Nas Ilhas De Cabo Verde (Lisbon: Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Ciências Humanas e Sociais, 1977).

[iii] Marta M. Maffia, “Migration and Identity of Cape Verdeans and Their Descendants in Argentina,” African and Black Diaspora: An International Journal 3, no. 2 (2010): pp. 169-180, https://doi.org/10.1080/17528631.2010.481954.

[iv] “ Murió El Negro Ramos Delgado,” La Nacion, December 3, 2010, https://www.lanacion.com.ar/deportes/futbol/murio-el-negro-ramos-delgado-nid1330490/.

[v] “Anécdotas Del Superclásico: José Ramos Delgado – Deportes – Taringa!,” accessed December 8, 2022, https://www.taringa.net/+deportes/anecdotas-del-superclasico-jose-ramos-delgado_134p7d.

[vi] “Murió El Negro Ramos Delgado,” La Nacion, December 3, 2010, https://www.lanacion.com.ar/deportes/futbol/murio-el-negro-ramos-delgado-nid1330490/.

[vii] “Murió El Negro Ramos Delgado,” La Nacion, December 3, 2010, https://www.lanacion.com.ar/deportes/futbol/murio-el-negro-ramos-delgado-nid1330490/.

[viii] “Murió El Negro Ramos Delgado,” La Nacion, December 3, 2010, https://www.lanacion.com.ar/deportes/futbol/murio-el-negro-ramos-delgado-nid1330490/.

The First Captain of Sport Lisboa e Benfica was a CaboVerdeano

December 31, 2016 G.S. Monteiro 13 Comments

In the kingdom of Morocco in 1825 a young Jewish boy by the name of Fortunato Levy was born, he would later marry a young woman by the name of Victoria. The records are silent of the year of her birth, but it is known that she was also born in Morocco. The two would later emigrate to Portugal and settle in Faro, while in Faro a son would be born to Fortunato and Victoria Levy and he is named Bento.

Bento Levy was born on November 11th, 1851 in Lagos, Faro, Portugal. Around 1869 at the age of 18, Bento Levy will emigrate to the then colony of Cabo Verde and establishes himself on the island of Santiago. Ten years later, Bento Levy is baptized on July 7th, 1879 at São Nicolau Tolentino, São Domingos, Cabo Verde. He will later marry the daughter of Paulo José Monteiro dos Mosquitos de Santa Maria and Josefa Rodrigues de Carvalho both from the island of Santiago, their daughter was Paula Conceição Monteiro.

Bento and Paula Levy will have 5 sons and there names were José Monteiro Levy [b. 1.14.1877], Álvaro Monteiro Levy, Fortunato Monteiro Levy [b. 4.21.1888 – d. 12.31.1969], Simão Monteiro Levy, and Jayme Monteiro Levy [b. 7.2.1982]. All 5 sons were born in São Lourenço dos Órgãos, Santiago, Cabo Verde. All 5 sons will have some impact in the future development of Cabo Verde, but the one that we will be focusing on is Fortunato Monteiro Levy.

By 1903, we find Fortunato M. Levy studying Business Administration at the Escola Académica located in Lisbon, Portugal. Founded in 1847, the Escola Académica was active until 1976, the year that the doors were permanently closed. There were almost 130 years of prestigious formative training offered during the lifetime of this institution.

34fo75c — Fencing Lesson from Professor Câmara Leme. Escola Académica, September 1903. Source: Tiro Civil, nº 267, of September 15, 1903.

In the picture above the two students appear before the camera in an attitude of great aesthetic beauty. They would certainly be the most outstanding of this class, displaying their virtuosity to their colleagues and reporters.

Now, if we look more closely at the photograph we see that the student who is ready to make touché is one of our acquaintances. This is Fortunato Monteiro Levy, the Cabo Verdean who would take part on the first team of Sport Lisboa e Benfica on January 1, 1905.

We know that Fortunato was not among the 24 men who officiated the founding of the Sport Lisboa e Benfica club. But he did take part in the trainings with other future players at Salésias in 1903, or months before the very founding of Sport Lisboa e Benfica. He participated in 10 of the 24 training sessions of Sport Lisboa organized by Manuel Gourlade and Daniel Santos Brito from February 28, 1904, the day of the Club’s foundation, until January 1, 1905 [Date of the first official meeting against Campo de Ourique].

On January 1st between 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. the team started training and this is the morning of the scheduled day for the club’s debut game.

In the field of Salésias, eight athletes were present: Cândido Rosa Rodrigues , António Rosa Rodrigues, Carlos França, Daniel dos Santos Brito, Eduardo Corga Joaquim Ribeiro, José Cruz Viegas and Manuel Gourlade. It was the last training session of an intense eleven month preparation, involving 29 drills, a very high number in a time in football where you played more than you trained! Of these eight footballers only three would participate in the first game: António Rosa Rodrigues, Carlos França and José Cruz Viegas.

Later that same day, at noon the game begins and by the end of the game Sport Lisboa e Benfica had won their debut match 1-0. Sport Lisboa e Benfica fielded a team with the following players: Pedro Guedes, José Cruz Viegas, Emílio de Carvalho, Fortunato Levy, César de Melo, António Couto, António Rosa Rodrigues, Silvestre Silva, Raul Empis, José Rosa Rodrigues and Carlos França.

Team from the season of 1904/05, in reality the picture dates from the last game of the season (June 29, 1905): From left to right. From top to bottom. Defensive midfielder José Cruz Viegas (right-back), Manuel Mora (goalkeeper), Fortunato Levy (right-back), Albano dos Santos (center midfielder) ), António Couto (left half defense) and Emílio de Carvalho (left defender); In the front, the line of five forwards, from the right-hand to the left-hand side: António Rosa Rodrigues, Silvestre da Silva, Cândido Rosa Rodrigues, José Rosa Rodrigues and Carlos França

Fortunato Levy played as a Defensive Right Midfielder, he showed great promise and had an amazing development and eventually making his debut as a professional footballer [soccer player] at the age of 16.

9h6u5u — Sport de Lisboa e Benfica. Circled is Fortunato Monteiro Levy.

Fortunato Monteiro Levy, was also the first cyclist of the Sport Lisboa e Benfica, having debuted on June 11, 1906 in a 1000m race in Palhavã, coming in second place. Still on the same day he finished third in another event, in the process winning the first two trophies in the Club’s history.

We now know that Fortunato Monteiro Levy spent at least 4 years in the capital of Portugal. Between the ages of 15 and 19. By April of 1907, he has returned to the city of Praia, on the island of Santiago in Cabo Verde. He was in Lisbon only during a small window of his long life. A passage that was decisive for his future professional and social life. He acquired knowledge and values that would essential for his success in his homeland.

Once he was back in Santiago, Fortunato put to good use what he had learned at the Escola Académica in the commercial house of Levy & Irmãos founded by his father. There he dedicated to family business and eventually reaching the position of prominence in business and in social associations throughout Cabo Verde.

Six years after his return to Cabo Verde, Fortunato Monteiro Levy in February of 1913 is appointed the Administrator of the Municipality of Praia.

nomeacao_de_fortunato_levy — from the newspaper “O Independente” nº 30 from 02.27.1913 -“Nomeação. O nosso prezado amigo, sr. Fortunato Levy, foi nomeado administrador do concelho da Praia. As nossas felicitações.” -English: “Appointment. Our dear friend, Mr. Fortunato Levy, has been appointed administrator of the municipality of Praia.

On February 19, 1914 in the city of São Filipe, Fogo Fortunato Monteiro Levy marries a young lady by the name of Maria Júlia de Medeiros Gomes Barbosa [b. 11.12.1887-d. 2.7.1966]. She was the daughter of António Gomes Barbosa [b. 5.26.1862-d. 1966] and Ana Roiz Barbosa [b. 9.14.1861 d. ???]. On December 29th, 1915 in the capital city of Praia a son is born to Fortunato and Maria Levy and he is named Orlando Barbosa Levy. Fortunato Monteiro Levy would also have a daughter by the name of Tinita Vieira de Andrade, but the name of the mother is not known to me.

Fortunato Monteiro Levy also belonged to a few commercial associations. On the 3rd of November 1918 in Praia, he was elected Secretary of Associação Comercial e Agrícola. By 1944, He also belonged to the Associação Comercial de Sotavento with other elite businessmen such as Solomão Benoliel, António M. Sousa Lobo, Carlos Pinto Wahnon, Abilio Monteiro de Macedo and many others.

On December 31st, 1969 in the city of Praia, Fortunato Monteiro Levy passes away at the age of 81. During our research we were not able to find any official records that stated that Fortunato Monteiro Levy was the first captain of Sport Lisboa e Benfica during their first game of their inaugural season 1904/05. But we game across many blog posts that states that he was voted as the team captain, which in itself is an amazing feat as he was just 16 years old when he made his debut for the team.

fortunato_levy_3i — Fortunato Monteiro Levy

YoungFortunato — Fortunato Monteiro Levy as a young man

m_julia_medeiros_gbarbosa — Maria Júlia de Medeiros Gomes Barbosa (1887-1966), Wife of Fortunato Monteiro Levy

orlando_levy — Orlando Barbosa Levy [1915- ], Son of Fortunato and Maria Levy

tinita1 — Tinita Vieira de Andrade, Daughter of Fortunato Monteiro Levy

Newspaperclippings — (A) announcement of the commercial house “Levy & Irmãos” in the newspaper “O Caboverdiano” from April 1918; (B) List of the governing bodies of the association “Commercial and Agricultural Association” 3 November 1918. Fortunato was elected Secretary of the General Assembly; (C) Obituary notice in the newspaper “O Arquipélago” nº 386 of 01 Jan 1970

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Works Cited

Abecassis, José Maria. Genealogia Hebraica: Portugal E Gibraltar: Séculos XVII a XX. Vol. III. Lisboa: J.M. Abecassis, 1991. Print.

Almeida Santos, Luis. Wahnon: Contribution for a Genealogy – Contributo Para Uma Genealogia. Charleston, SC, USA: CreateSpace Independent Platform, 2011. Print.

Barbosa, Antero J. Famílias Da Ilha Do Fogo (Portuguese Edition). San Bernadino, CA, USA: CreateSpace Independent Platform, 2014. Print.

“Benfica História I – 1904-1916 (Fundação Do Glorioso E Primeiros Titulos).” Benfica HD. N.p., 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 30 Dec. 2016. <https://benficahd.blogspot.com/2010/02/benfica-historia-i-1904-1916-fundacao.html>.

Correia, Claudia. Presença De Judeus Em Cabo Verde: Inventariação Na Documentação Do Arquivo Histórico Nacional (1840-1927). Praia (Cape Verde): Arquivo Historico Nacional, 1998. Print.

Correia, Cláudia. A Questão Do Cemitério Israelita Na Ilha Da BoaVista [1915/1923]. N.p.: Fundação Eng. António De Almeida, 1999. Print. Africana Studia N.2.

“Decifrando Imagens Do Passado – Page 27 – Memórias – SerBenfiquista.com – Fórum De Adeptos Do Sport Lisboa E Benfica.” Decifrando Imagens Do Passado – Page 27 – Memórias – SerBenfiquista.com – Fórum De Adeptos Do Sport Lisboa E Benfica. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2016. <http://serbenfiquista.com/forum/index.php?topic=53816.390>.

“Fortunato Levy.” Serbenfiquista.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2016. <http://serbenfiquista.com/jogador/fortunato-levy>.

“Fortunato Monteiro LEVY, ®.” Fortunato Monteiro LEVY, ®. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2016. <http://www.barrosbrito.com/7976.html>.

Oliveira, Mario Fernando De., Carlos Rebelo Da. Silva, and Ribeiro Dos. Reis. Historia Do Sport Lisboa E Benfica, 1904-1954. Lisboa: “Os Ridiculos”, 1954. Print.

“Um Minuto De Silêncio.” Em Defesa Do Benfica. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2016. <http://em-defesa-do-benfica.blogspot.com/2015/01/um-minuto-de-silencio.html>.

General Viriato Gomes da Fonseca: Inventor, Politician, Musician, Scholar and Military leader

February 22, 2015 G.S. Monteiro 4 Comments

General Viriato Gomes da Fonseca 1863-1942

When we think of Cabo Verdean military leaders or commanders we seem to not get passed Amilcar Cabral, Pedro Pires, Aristides Perreira and some of the other leaders of the Independence movement. But there were a handful of pre-indepence era military men and one of them was General Viriato Gomes da Fonseca.

General Viriato Gomes da Fonseca baptismal record — General Viriato Gomes da Fonseca’s baptismal record, second entry on the left hand side.

General Viriato Gomes da Fonseca was born on December 13, 1863, a native of Curral do Coculi in the Parish of Santo Crucifixo, on the Island of Santo Antão to Manoel Gomes da Fonseca and Julia Juanna Fortes. At the age of seven Viriato Gomes da Fonseca move from Santo Antão to the capital of the Portuguese Empire. In 1897, After completing his studies at the War College the young lieutenant Viriato returns to Cape Verde with the fixed aim to help in the development of the islands. Viriato was blessed with extraordinary speaking skills and communication skills, he was also very charismatic.

In 1907, he was appointed commander of a battery in an expeditionary mission to Guinea. he fought, at the time, in what was called the ‘pacification wars’ against the indigenous peoples in the struggle against the Portuguese presence in that territory.

After returning to Lisbon, Viriato was promoted to Major. Back in Cape Verde, Major Viriato Gomes da Fonseca was given the position of Director of Public Works and Head of Surveying.

Connecting the water supply to the village of Ponta do Sol, the study of the Levadas [an irrigation channel or aqueduct] and a topographical survey of the Concelho do Paul, are the most essential works completed by Viriato Gomes da Fonseca on the island of Santo Antão. He also surveyed Montado Real on the Island of Fogo and also had plans for the port on the island of Brava.

Viriato Gomes da Fonseca was also Military Commander of São Vicente, Director of the Municipality of the island of Santo Antão, December 1910 to November 1912 and during the same period, he served also as President of the Municipal Commission of that island.

By 1919, the people of the islands recognized his expertise in the works carried out by Viriato Gomes da Fonseca and they were aware of his great patriotism and love for the homeland, the people entrusted him with the task of representing the Province of Cabo Verde in Parliament. this is how he entered politics and became what today we would call a congressman for the Partido Republicano Português (PRP), from 1919 to 1922 and for the Partido Republicano Constituinte, from 1922 to 1925.

At 63, he was promoted to general and provided services at the Institute Geagráfico and Cadastral, with several studies of his own on the registration of land ownership published by the institute and the Military Magazine. General Viriato Gomes da Fonseca was the only black man who attained the Portuguese army rank of general and probably of any other European army.

General Viriato Gomes da Fonseca was offered the position of Governor General of Angola, but the general turned down the position. He preferred waiting for the position of Governor General of Cabo Verde but that position never came to fruition.

From his marriage to Cesaria da Conceição Machado Fonseca, born in Lisbon, were born ten children: Viriato, Manuel Augusto, John, Julia, Emma, Celisa, Peter, Lucete and Alberto.

General Viriato da Fonseca and his wife Cesária da Conceição da Fonseca

General Viriato Gomes da Fonseca died on February 26, 1942, at his residence, at the Villa Cesaria in Paco de Arcos, Portugal.

Some awards and commendations won by General Viriato Gomes da Fonseca are:

Comendador da Ordem de Nossa Senhora de Vila Viçosa; Medalha Militar de Prata da Rainha D. Amélia; Medalha dos Serviços Distintos no Ultramar; Comendador da Ordem Militar de São Vicente de Aviz; Medalha de Ouro da Classe de Comportamento Exemplar; Cavaleiro da Ordem Militar de Santiago de Espada e Grã Cruz da Ordem Militar de São Bento de Aviz.

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SOURCES

http://noticias.sapo.cv/vida/noticias/artigo/1129116.html

Faria, Luis António, Suzana Abreu, and Américo C. Araújo. Cabo Verde Terra de Morabeza: Uma Viagem Atraves de Sua Historia e Cultura. Valrico: LAF Enterprises, 2012.

Family Search – “República de Cabo Verde, Registros Paroquiais, 1787-1957,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-45229-15-83?cc=2246703&wc=SFVV-PT5:1396419303,1396421001,1396429323 : accessed 19 February 2015), Santo Antão > Santo Crucifixo > Batismos 1856-1864 > image 114 of 123; Arquivo Nacional de Cabo Verde, Praia, Ilha de Santiago [Cape Verde National Archives, Praia, Ilha de Santiago].

Esquina do Tempo: Magazine Cultural Online – http://brito-semedo.blogs.sapo.cv/158836.html